


How to Win Over a Human

by Pastel_Teacups



Category: Star Trek
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-20 08:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/885018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pastel_Teacups/pseuds/Pastel_Teacups
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A true story by Sarek</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Any suggestions about what should happen next are welcome!

Amanda Grayson enjoyed school, along with the rest of her life. She was perfectly happy, and held the reputation for being one of the most friendly among her class. And she was, unless somebody upset her. 

And it took quite a bit to upset the woman, but some people who truly tried to aggravate her did just that. 

And then there was Sarek. 

He was Ambassador to Earth, apparently, and he’d come to her school to “study the humans,” or something that Amanda didn’t catch because she’d been talking during his introduction. 

They met a short while later, and Amanda had decided on the meeting that her sudden hate for Vulcans would be eternal. 

It was a warm Spring day, and Amanda was out on the green grass, soaking up the sunlight. Her brown hair was spilled around her, shining in the sunlight. 

That is, until somebody stepped over her sun. 

She opened her eyes, raising an eyebrow at the Vulcan who, if she was being completely honest with herself, looked like he was more suited for a cold February rather than the sun of California. 

“What is it?” She asked, somewhat blearily. The Vulcan man hadn’t approached her in the few long weeks he was visiting. 

“I wished to ask you about your current studies and classes,” He said, his tone monotonous like he wasn’t at college and was rather in the seventh grade reading out of a textbook. 

Amanda groaned, dropping back onto the towel she’d been laying on. “Can’t it wait until later?” She muttered, adjusting her slipping sunglasses. 

“Nonsence. In a half-hour I have a meeting with the dean. Now is the only optimal time for us to-” 

“Fine, fine.” She said, propping herself up on her elbows and waving her hand, as if to tell him to continue. 

“May I sit?” 

The girl nods, drawing her knees up to make room for the Vulcan as he sits down, and Amanda has to smile. 

He looks very out of place like that, sitting on a pink towel in the hot sun. “Now, shall we begin? I understand your studies are to become a teacher, am I correct?” She nods after a moment, running a hand through her hair. “And though such people are redundant to modern society, you continue to bore on their seemingly old-fashioned traditions?” 

Amanda raises an eyebrow, sobering. “They’re not redundant. Children need actual teachers, not computers.” 

Sarek looks up from some papers, watching the woman’s emotional response. “I was taught by a computer and I turned out to be more intelligent than those taught in a matter of face-to-face learnings.” 

Amanda scoffs, shaking her head. “I can see why. You sound like a computer yourself. You probably don’t feel the personability of people willing to help others.” She said, shaking her head. 

Sarek looks somewhat confused, and shakes his head. “As a Vulcan, it is not in my biology to feel, only to see the most logical solution to any given scenario.” 

Amanda stands, shaking her head again. “I can tell,” She said, looking down at him. “I guess Vulcan’s don’t just walk away when they’re completely disgusted with one another?” 

“No.” 

“Well, humans do.” She said, pulling the towel out from under him and shoving it in her bag, walking away before he could get another word in. 

It seemed Sarek and Amanda Grayson wouldn’t get along at all. She could only hope he’d be leaving soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm currently googlechromse on tumblr!

Their next meeting was no more pleasant than the first. 

It’s in Amanda’s morning lecture, and she’d hardly bothered to put on actual clothes, as her sweatpants and sweater shows. Somehow she makes it to class in time and sits down, dragging out her transmitter to record the lecture, before balancing her head on her hand, her eyes lidded. 

“Good morning.” 

The young woman nearly jumps out of her seat, her pencil sent flailing helplessly to the ground. Sarek bends down to pick it up, eyeing her blue slippers. “I must admit your choice of clothing for your schooling is impressively impractical.”   
Amanda waits until her heart rate slows, before turning to the man, looking cranky and very, very tired. “What do you want?” She snaps, shaking her head. 

“I wish to study the human mind and what possesses someone to join in a clearly dying teaching career.” He answered, looking at the woman with almost confusion in his eyes. 

Amanda curls her hand over her pencil, which Sarek had set on her desk. “You want to know why I want to be a teacher?” She asked. Sarek nods. “I want to be a teacher because I like helping people. Making them better. It’s a nice feeling, alright? Is that enough for you?” 

Sarek stares at her for a moment, before shaking his head. Amanda inwardly groans. “As a Vulcan, I am incapable of experiencing human feelings myself.” 

Amanda rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air. “Of course you are!” She said, possibly a bit louder than intended. People turn and stare at her. Somebody eyes her slippers. She resists the deep, deep urge to kick him. 

“It is in my biology.” Sarek replies calmly, and Amanda shakes her head and turns towards the lecturer, who’s stopped talking to stare at her. She sinks in her seat, tapping her pencil against the desk as he continues.   
\---  
“Ms. Grayson.” Sarek says, falling into step with her as she walks out of the lecture hall. She turns, running a hand through her still-mussed hair. 

“How do you know my name?” She asks, shaking her head as she slipped through the throng of other students, fully dressed (unlike herself) and off to other classes. Amanda inwardly curses her natural evening person rather than their mornings-are-great personalities as they glance at her with raised eyebrows. Not to mention her being followed by a seemingly relentless Vulcan. 

“I looked through your school file.” He replied, making an attempt to catch up with her. 

“That’s private school property, is it not, Mr. Sarek?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and spinning around briefly to face him, before turning back, clutching her book in hand. 

“I am an Ambassador, and therefore have access to such files.” 

Amanda rolls her eyes, yes Sarek can’t see it, and merely continues. “I am especially interested in your childhood life. Perhaps we could discuss it over a beverage, or-” He’s stopped, because Amanda spins around, her eyes narrowed. 

“You will not tell _anyone_ about my childhood life.” She snaps, shaking her head. 

Sarek looks taken aback, and Amanda feels just a bit of joy in that. “Of course. I simply wanted to discuss it privately.”   
Amanda thought for a moment, before sighing, seemingly resigned. “Fine. Drinks, at the bar down the street. Tonight at nine.” She said, before spinning around and walking off, sauntering towards her dorm to get dressed. 

Sarek inwardly wonders if human sweatpants are meant to contain so much provacativity.   
\---  
It’s very obvious that Sarek is terribly uncomfortable, and Amanda relishes that as she sips on a beer and leans against the bar, looking up at the Vulcan, who hasn’t taken a single sip of the beer she bought him. She hadn’t planned on it, really. 

Sarek can hardly speak over the loud music, but he certainly makes an attempt. “Ms. Grayson, I was hoping we could discuss the custody issues between your mother and father-” 

Amanda pretends to not hear him and takes another sip of her beer, looking out at all the other people. 

Finally, Sarek has enough of this woman’s games and tugs her outside, into the cold air that Amanda clearly hadn’t prepared for, if her possibly too-short strapless dress is any indication. 

“What the hell are you doing? It’s freezing out here!” The woman says, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to warm them. Sarek starts walking, and Amanda doesn’t have much a choice but to follow him. 

“It was much too noisy in that place to be a recreational room.” 

Amanda rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “It’s supposed to be _fun,_ Pointy.” She said, looking up at him. Even in her heels, she’s nearly a head shorter than he is, and she inwardly curses her biology, along with waking up late. 

“Pointy,” The man echoes, looking down at her. “I do not understand.” 

“Your ears,” She explains, taking a breath and praying she’ll never have to deal with any Vulcans for the rest of her life. “They’re pointy.” 

“A deragatory reference,” Sarek confirms, and she nods. 

“I am insulted.” 

“That’s the point,” She mutters, shaking her head. “But congratulations on getting there.” She said, her anger seeping out a bit. 

“We’ve yet to talk of your childhood life.” 

Amanda sighed, sitting on a bench not far and curling up to keep out the cold. 

She feels a weight on her shoulders and glances up, only to find Sarek’s coat wrapped around her shoulders as he sits down next to her. She vaguely wonders where he picked up the human trait. “Can we not talk about it?” 

Sarek watches her, sensing her sudden discomfort on the subject. “What would you like to talk about?” He asked. 

She thinks for a minute, sitting up and pulling the colossal coat around her shoulders. “What do you think of me so far?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. 

Sarek pauses, trying to figure out how to navigate the question, without lying or being smacked in the face by this woman. “I believe that you are a very bright young woman with an interest in a dying art, and who is prepared to fight for herself and others that she cares about to death. A truly compassionate and kind woman.” He answered.

Amanda smiles after a moment, and opens her mouth to reply-

-but it interrupted by her transmitter beeping away. 

She takes is and opens it, looking at the ground. “What is it?” She hissed, shaking her head. 

She listens to the other line, and sighs. “I’ll be there in five minutes. The one down the street, yeah. Yes, he’s here.” She mumbles, before hanging up. 

“I have to go,” She says, standing from her place on the bench. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, Mr. Sarek,” 

She spins around and runs down the street, and is around the corner before Amanda realizes she has his coat, and Sarek realizes that there is something very different about this woman.


	3. Chapter 3

Amanda doesn’t speak to Sarek for nearly another week, before she had her afternoon class and he appears by her side again, nearly sending her falling. “Don’t _do_ that.” She says after catching her breath, holding her chest. “You’re going to kill me,” She mumbles, straightening in her seat. She isn’t in her pajamas this time, even though she woke up about an hour ago, but is in jeans and a plain t-shirt, along with an old pair of tennis shoes she found in the garage of her grandma. She remembers her telling her about how her mother’s mother had them, and she wore them all the time and laughed and spilt paint on them, even though they were white. Most people didn’t like them, but Amanda did. She thought they were fun. Most people called them dirty. 

“I was hoping to discuss your future teaching methods-” 

She groans. “It’s too early for this.” 

Sarek checks the clock on the side of his PAD. “It is one oh eight. It is well into the afternoon,” 

“Yeah? Well my body clock says otherwise.” She mumbles, not caring to mention the fact that she hadn’t been awake since an hour previous, considering the Vulcan had probably been awake at five this morning, drinking some green drink and reading about the anatomy of humans or something. 

Sarek stares at her for a moment, and Amanda swears she catches just a bit of amusement in his face, before it’s gone. She can’t quite tell if she was imagining it or not. Before she can ponder too deeply, he continues. “I was hoping we could discuss your future teaching methods. Since you will be competing for your students against computers, I was wondering how your methods outweigh that of an AI.” 

Amanda vaguely registers that question, and also vaguely registers really wanting to tell Sarek that in her mind it is five in the morning, despite his current misconceptions that she was actually paying attention. 

“Again, I say it. Too early.” She groans, leaning her head on her desk. 

Sarek stares at her, and falls silent. Amanda can only wonder what he’s thinking about.   
\---  
Class drags on and on before finally letting out, and Amanda’s set out for the quad again, stretching out the very same pink towel and laying on it, hesitantly opening up a book and burying herself in studies. By the time Sarek appears, she’s inwardly prepared for it, and doesn’t jump. “Oh, you.” She said, turning away from her book for just a moment, before glancing back. 

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner.” He says quickly, like it’s a relief to have it out in the open. Amanda pauses, her hand halfway to her book before pulling herself up to a sitting position, looking him over. 

“Are you asking me out on a date?” She asks, raising an eyebrow. Sarek looks positively green, and Amanda wonders if it’s a Vulcan thing. 

“‘Date,’ meaning a recreational activity two people participate in who are or wish to be romantically involved, yes.” 

Amanda bites her lip. She was only teasing! Did Vulcans even go on real dates? Never mind that, did Vulcans ever date humans? “I thought you weren’t supposed to have emotions.” She finally manages.

He nods. “It is in my biology not to feel. I was simply asking to experience the traditional meaning of it.” 

She doesn’t answer for a moment, and she wonders why she feels so disappointed all of a sudden. After all, she never wanted Sarek. 

“Alright, dinner. Tomorrow night, I’ll meet you here.” She said, not quite looking at him as she gathers her books and towel, before hurrying away. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Sarek!” She calls behind her, waving her hand as she walks off. 

Sarek has to admire her, just a little, for her determination in him. Not many people have such a thing.   
\---  
Amanda appears at the same place the next night, wearing a black dress. Her hair is up in a ponytail, giving the rare chance to see the half of her face that’s normally covered in her unruly hair. But now it’s up, smoothed down by her roommate, Winona. Winona was a funny girl, dreamed of travelling the stars. She said once she’d enroll in Starfleet one day, but she needed someone to go with. 

Sarek appears at the exact moment Amanda sees the clock on the cafe nearby strike six. She has to admire him for his punctuation. 

“Hello,” She says, smiling lightly and looking up at him. She’s got her heels on, and feels just a little taller like that. 

“Hello, Amanda.” He greets. He starts walking, and Amanda follows, looking around. 

“So, where are you taking me for our hypothetical date?” She asked, using Winona’s word for it. When she told her she was going out with a Vulcan, she giggled for nearly ten minutes before finally calming down enough to say, “So, it’s like a hypothetical date?” Before collapsing into giggles again. 

“I believe a restaurant down the street from here.” He answers, nodding. 

“Well. Sounds nice.” 

“I believe it serves Italian food.” He replies.   
\---  
It’s awkward. 

And more awkward than a first date. It’s like first date with a Vulcan awkward. Which, apparently, is a million times worse. 

They get seated and served, and Amanda eats the appetizer in absolute, undiluted silence, before finally opening her mouth to speak. 

“Why did you invite me on a date?” She asked, looking at him for the first time since yesterday. 

“I simply wanted to experience the romantic effect on a human.” He answered, taking a sip of his water. 

“And you chose me. Why?” 

“I chose you because you are extraordinary.” He answered simply, looking at her. 

“In what way?” Amanda pressed, taking a bite of her breadstick. 

“In every way.” He answered after a moment, and Amanda sees that smile again. Or maybe she didn’t. She blinked, and it’s gone. She wonders if every Vulcan’s like that. Maybe it’s a big secret that they do have emotions and are just really good at acting. 

But Amanda just smiles and feels a heat rise to her face, pink appearing on her features. He watches her as she turns her eyes to her plate, rather than him.   
\---  
It’s a bit easier after that. They talk, Amanda jokes, that tiny bit of amusement passes over Sarek’s face, before becoming emotionless. She sort of feels like she’s talking to a brick wall, but the brick wall’s talking back in the most logical way. 

It’s nice. Amanda decides she enjoys Sarek’s company, no matter how infuriating it is that he only speaks in the smartest way. 

He walks her back to her dorm, and Amanda is one hundred percent sure that Winona is peering through the peephole, but she does her best to ignore it. 

“Well, this was nice.” She admits, smiling. 

“I quite agree, it is nice to have intelligent company once in awhile,” He says, watching her. After a moment, he touches his hand to hers, and his two fingers are against hers. He looks green. 

“I must go,” He says, suddenly, before sweeping down the hall. 

“See you later!” She calls after him, shaking her head and opening her door-

-And hitting Winona’s head. 

She holds her blonde curls and giggles madly, like a woman possessed. “What?” Amanda demands, setting down her bag. 

“He touched your hand!” She nearly yells, collapsing onto her bed. 

“Okay, so?” 

Winona scrambles up, staring at her as she unties her hair. “You don’t know?” 

“Don’t know what?” She asked, turning to face the blonde. She shook her head, handing her a PAD. 

“Look up Vulcan anatomy.” 

“Why?” 

“Just do it!” Winona orders, crossing her arms over her chest.   
\---  
“No way.” 

“Way.” Winona answers, grinning a bit too widely. 

“But-” 

“Vulcan’s lips are not their main erogenous zones,” Winona reads off Amanda’s PAD over her shoulder, nearly singing. “It is their hands. By touching two fingers to another person’s, it is much like human kissing.” She falls onto Amanda’s bed dramatically. “He’s in love with you!” 

Amanda hits her with a pillow. “He is _not, _” She says, though there’s a blush on her face.__

__“See? You’re in love, and you’re going to get married and half little half-blood babies!” She squeals, and Amanda seriously doubts her friend’s mental state._ _

__“Okay, I don’t even think half-blood babies are possible, and he’s not in love with me!”_ _

__Winona gives a knowing smile. “ _Sure_ he isn’t.”_ _


	4. Chapter 4

This time, it’s Amanda that seeks out Sarek, who seems to have disappeared since their “kissing” incident.   
Upon even further research, Amanda found that Winona wasn’t lying, the hands were Vulcan erogenous points, which scared her even more. She didn’t like him, did she? He was too...different from her. Frigid. She was certain he’d never had a drink before, could he? If he had, it had to be an obligatory sip of wine, not the kind of drinking college ensues. 

Finally, she manages to track him down outside a tiny, cramped coffee shop, sitting outside and reading intently off a PAD, that Amanda snatches away as soon as she’s close enough. 

Her mouth makes the decision before her mind can. “I’m taking you drinking,” She said, looking down at him as he looked up, his eyebrows furrowing. 

She made a mental note to tease him about those eyebrows if the opportunity arose. “Drinking?” He asked, making a grab for his PAD, which Amanda decisively holds away from him. 

“Yes, drinking. At the bar down the street. Tonight at nine.” She said, still holding the PAD away. She considers reading it, but it’s probably nothing more than algorithms and other things that are filed away in her mind as things she didn’t understand. 

“Alright.” He agrees after a moment, nodding. She’s surprised at how easy it is, considering the last time they met at the bar. 

“Wear something...normal. If you can.” She said, setting the PAD on the table and walking off, spinning around to wink at the Vulcan and giggle at his facial expression, turning off.

Sarek wonders how he’d gotten roped in to such a woman.  
\---  
It’s loud. 

Just as loud as the first time they’d met, though after a few drinks he enjoys it much more. 

“It’s fun, right?” Amanda has to repeat the question three times before Sarek could hear and nodded, his face still as blank as before he took his fourth shot, but Amanda can tell he’s having fun.  
\---  
When they say goodbye at Amanda’s door, she’s surprised to find, only five minutes later, an incessant tapping on her window. Rocks. Sarek is throwing tiny rocks at her window. Winona can’t contain herself. 

She opens the window, leaning out. Sarek’s senses are driven down, a pebble hits her cheek. “What is it, Sarek?” She calls, shaking her head at him, but smiling. 

“Amanda, we should marry! It is the most logical thing to do!” He called, watching her with a sort of wonder in his eyes. She writes it off as drunkenness and laughs. 

“Sarek, go home. You’re drunk.” She called, laughing. He shakes his head, staring up at her, at the perfect way her hair fell down her shoulders. 

“That may be so, but I know that I love you.” He called. A distant giggle is heard. Amanda kicks Winona off the bed without looking away from Sarek. 

“And I love you, too. But you should go home. I don’t think you’re gonna remember this in the morning.” She replied, smiling and ignoring the incessant singing coming from the bathroom (“Amanda’s got a Vulcan, Amanda’s got a Vulcan,”). 

He finally nods, waving a hand with the ghost of a smile over his face before he turns, and Amanda shuts the window. Winona flanks her in seconds, laughing and nearly collapsing onto the bed. “You’re in love with a Vulcan!” She says, clutching her heart like she’d never seen two people so in love. 

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, shaking her head after a hesitant moment. “No, I just said that to get him to go home,” She said, shaking her head and sitting on her bed, pulling her knees to her chest. 

“Oh, please. You said it because you’re in love.” The blonde said dreamily, falling onto the bed. Amanda pushes her off, and she lands in a heap on the ground, but rolls back up. Amanda has to admire her constant determination. 

She doesn’t dare admit that she’s right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winona's the only person to call Amanda on her bullshit, and look up Vulcan traditions


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter, but it needed an update. Enjoy!

In a very strange turn of events, when Amanda shows up for her morning class, bleary-eyed and recorder-equipped, Sarek sits down beside her and buries his head in his hands. 

“Hungover?” She asked quietly, not daring to speak louder for fear of both her and Sarek’s heads exploding. He nods helplessly, shaking his head. 

“I have never experienced such a terrible headache,” He said, closing his eyes. Amanda snorts lightly, nodding. 

“Welcome to the land of college hangovers. It’s terrible, isn’t it?” Amanda asked, turning her head to look at him. He nods, raising his eyes to hers. 

“I have never known such a terrible consequence for drinking.” 

She nods in understanding. “I get it.” She said, leaning her head on her hands. 

Amanda vaguely wonders if the painkillers she’s living off of work on Vulcans, but by the time they meet after classes, because Winona has been nagging and _nagging_ to introduce her to the Vulcan, he seems perfectly fine and composed like before. 

Amanda smiles, shaking her head at him. “It’s impossible.”

“What is?” He asked, looking down at her.

“That this morning you were a total wreck and now you look perfectly normal.” She said, shaking her head. 

“So do you,” 

“I have the blessings of makeup and bobby pins in my favor.” She argues, rolling her eyes before taking his hand, pulling him towards the dorms. He turns a shade of green, and Amanda can’t figure out why, before she remembers. She turns a shade of pink. “Oh, I’m sorry,” She said, looking down at her feet. He shakes his head. 

“Don’t be.” He says. The phrase is so human, she vaguely wonders where he picked it up. It certainly doesn’t seem logical. But she can’t think about it, because Winona just threw open the door with a smile. 

“Hi! Hi, come in!” She says, ushering Amanda and Sarek in like she’s a little housewife. 

“Winona,” Amanda interrupts before she can start whatever monologue she’s planning on. “I live here, too.” 

“Of course you do!” Winona said, turning to the Vulcan. “I’m Winona.” She greets, smart enough not to hold out her hand to shake. He nods in greeting, looking down at her with what seemed like disapproval. Winona smiles for a moment, before seeming to lose her friendly demeanor and raising an eyebrow, shaking her head. Her eyes flash to their intertwined hands, and she gives a knowing smile to the both of them. 

This was a bad idea.


	6. Chapter 6

Winona and Sarek have been spending a shocking amount of time together. It’s nice, in a way, knowing that her friend and Vulcan get along. But it’s also just a little unnerving. 

Amanda assumed Winona and Sarek would butt heads, considering Winona’s fun demeanor, and Sarek’s, well, not. But, they’ve been like two peas in a pod, and Amanda gets the very sneaking suspicion that they’re-or Winona, at least-were planning something. 

And she was very right. 

One night during Spring Break, while both Winona and Amanda were still in their dorms, considering their family lived so far away, Winona burst through the door of the bathroom nearly singing. 

“You’ve got a date tonight!” She singsonged, jumping onto Amanda’s bed and making her drop her book. “Sarek told me to tell you to meet him in the taxi that’ll be outside the dorms in twenty minutes.” 

“Twenty minutes?” She asked, glancing down at her pajamas. “You didn’t think you could’ve told me this before?” 

“He said to dress casually.” She said, smiling dreamily. “I can’t wait until I get a boyfriend.” 

“Maybe if you’d quit fawning over /mine,/ you’d get one. Besides, you and a Vulcan? _Married?_ ” Amanda giggled, shaking her head. 

“What?” Winona asked, looking up. 

“You wouldn’t make it twenty minutes on Vulcan.” Amanda giggled, pulling on a pair of purple shorts, along with a black top. 

“I would _so_ make it!” She said, shaking her head as Amanda tied up her hair. 

“Oh, please.” She said, running a hand through her hair. 

Winona jumped up and looked out the window, smiling brightly. “Your Vulcan’s here!”   
\--  
“Sarek, where are we going?” She asked, leaning her head against the man’s frigid shoulder as they rode on. 

“I believe you humans call it a surprise,” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 

“Oh, you’re no fun.” She said, smiling nevertheless as they finally stopped. Amanda climbed out of the taxi, looking up. “No way,” She said, shaking her head. 

Disneyland. Amanda’s Vulcan boyfriend, brought her to _Disneyland._

“Are you serious?” She said, turning to Sarek.

“I thought it was a key part of human culture, and I was hoping to experience it with you.” He said, looking up at the sign.  
\--  
“These lines are absolutely illogical.” 

Amanda laughed, shaking her head as they stood in the haunted house ride line, along rows of people. “Oh, hush. Waiting in line is half the fun! You get to people watch.” 

“People watch?” He repeated, raising an eyebrow. “I do not understand.” 

“You know, people watch. What people are wearing, or doing, or talking about. It’s a way to pass the time.” 

“Eavesdropping.” Sarek provides. 

“No, no, not like that.” Amanda says, laughing. “Just observing.” 

Sarek considers this, before nodding and moving forward in the line.   
\--  
“A two-minute ride was hardly worth the wait to get there.” Sarek declares as they walk off the ride, and Amanda grabs his arm and drags him towards Tommorowland. 

“Oh, c’mon, let’s go do Space Mountain.”   
\--  
By the end of the night, they’re both exhausted, mostly Amanda’s doing. 

“That was fun!” Amanda said, smiling brightly as she curled up against Sarek’s side, yawning as the Vulcan gave the school’s adress. 

“It was a highly illogical day.” He said. Amanda thought he secretly agreed, as he wrapped his arms around her.   
\--  
“So? How was your romantic theme park adventure?” Winona asked when Amanda walks through the door, looking mussed and tired. 

“You knew?” 

“Of course I did. He came to me first to ask if you’d like it. I told him of course, considering you’re all fun and everything, but…” 

Winona drones for a while, but Amanda can’t hear it, because she’s already asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Amanda falls into step with Sarek on Monday, still wearing pajama pants and a tank top, deciding the odd looks she’d get from her professors would be worth the comfort. 

“You look ravishing, as usual.” He drawls with a glance, and Amanda swears she heard just a touch of sarcasm in his voice. 

“Worth it.” She mumbles, shaking her head as she all but falls into her seat. 

She never was coordinated. 

Her professor starts talking, though she isn’t listening, instead looking at Sarek. It was strange. Only a few weeks ago she thought she’d never even _like_ a Vulcan, and here she was dating one. It was strange, in a way. After all, Vulcan’s aren’t supposed to feel. But it just so happens that maybe they do, they just need somebody right to let them open up. 

She can’t think about it for long, though, because her professor says something, something to _her,_ and she looks up. 

“What?” 

“I asked if Ms. Grayson would be so kind as to actually pay attention during my lessons, instead of staring at the Vulcan next to you.” 

Amanda blushes and looks down, running a hand through her messy hair and picking up her PADD. 

“And pajamas? Really?” 

The girl ducks her head, and finally he starts talking again.   
\--  
“Amanda.” Sarek says, catching her arm as she stalks out into the quad. 

“Sarek.” Amanda says, turning around and looking up at him. Damn height difference. 

He opens his mouth, then closes it. Then opens it again. 

“I feel it would be highly illogical to continue our relationship as anything but purely platonic, something that it has been lacking in.” 

Amanda’s heart drops into her stomach. _”What?”_

“It has occurred to me that our status has gone from friendly to romantic in the past few weeks, and I feel is it illogical for it to do so, considering I do not have emotions. It would be morally wrong to waste your time on me any longer.” 

Amanda is speechless. He makes it sound so _seamless,_ so perfectly thought out and easy to say that for a moment she can’t think straight. But then, slowly, she looks down. 

“You’re breaking up with me.” 

“Precisely.” Sarek agreed. 

Amanda can’t answer, because she’s already gone, running down the grassy quad to the dorms.   
\--  
Winona is gone, off to class, and Amanda is silently thankful for that as she collapses onto her bed, crying into her pillow. She hasn’t cried in months, maybe even years. But today, she does.   
\--  
She isn’t sure when she stops crying, or how she falls asleep, but she wakes up to a hand on her shoulder and a blonde pulling her to her chest, stroking the girl’s brunette hair. “Who needs him, anyways? He’s just some stupid guy with no emotion and you deserve _way_ better.” Winona mumbles, sighing quietly as Amanda shakes her head. 

“I really liked him, you know? And I thought he liked me. I know he can’t because the Vulcan thing, but, but-” Amanda said, letting Winona tuck her under the blankets and turn on the projector to play some old TV show. 

“Oh, honey. I’m gonna go buy some ice cream.” 

She promises to be back soon, and then leaves Amanda with her thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

Amanda comes into class in a daze, sitting down in the farthest corner of the lecture hall, rather than her normal middle seat. She can’t see well from here, but she sees Sarek come and sit down in his usual spot, and she’s thankful for her seat decision. 

She briefly sees Sarek looking around, but he doesn’t see her. She realizes that he probably thinks nothing is wrong, and that Amanda shouldn’t have been anything but grateful for their demoted relationship, and that she was reacting irrationally. But she didn’t care. She didn’t care about Sarek anymore, right? 

But he looks only slightly distressed, like something’d happened. Why did he look like that? 

Amanda shook her head and closed her eyes. She wasn’t even going to think about Sarek. Not a bit.   
\--  
Winona has, surprisingly, managed to avoid all things Sarek. It was amazing, considering she was still speaking with him and doing things. 

“You know, Sarek thinks you’re angry.” Winona says one night, during a movie. 

“I am angry.” Amanda mumbled, curling under the blanket and chewing her popcorn with vengeance. 

“I know, but he seems really upset about it. I know he was wrong, Amanda, but maybe-” 

“No.” 

“Two minutes. Just talk to him for two minutes. See what he was to say.”

Amanda sighed. “You aren’t going to leave this alone, are you?” 

She shakes her head. “I think he said he was going to be in the coffee shop tonight. You could go.”

Amanda has a sneaking question in the back of her mind that refers to why she knows this information, but she finally gets up after Winona prods and pries her into a pair of jeans rather than her pajama pants, and sends her off, nearly slamming the door in her face. 

When she does walk into the little coffee shop, she sees Sarek sitting in the corner almost immediately. Still, she buys a hot chocolate before silently making way over to him, sitting across. He looks at her quizzically. 

“What is it? Winona said you wanted to talk to me.” 

Sarek watches her for a moment, through his dark eyes, and Amanda takes a sip of her drink. “I wanted to apologize. It is clear now that our demoted relationship has resulted in an emotional reaction, something I never intended to cause.” He said, and his professionalism makes Amanda want to throw something. 

“I just…” She takes a breath, twisted a hair that came astray from her ponytail around her fingers. “Why did you do it?” 

Sarek has to think for a moment. “I believed that, in my current state, it was strictly logical to sever the ties between us before they grew to be…” 

Amanda raises an eyebrow. “What?” 

“Illogical.” 

Amanda suddenly felt a warmth fill her chest. He didn’t hate her. He was in _love_ with her. And that scared him. 

She reached a hand over to rest on his, a small, shy smile on her face. “Sarek,” She said. “That’s kind of what love feels like.” 

He stares at her for a long moment. “I am incapable to such emotions. Love is a concept most foreign to me.” 

Amanda only smiles, and shakes her head. “Well, then.” She said, biting her lip. The mischievous glint in her eye is back. “I’ll just have to teach you.”


	9. Chapter 9

Winona looks ridiculously smug about the whole thing, like she knew exactly what was going on. 

Amanda tries to ignore it.   
\--  
“Amanda!” Winona yells, jumping on the woman’s bed at six in the morning. Amanda rolled over, all but pushing the blonde woman-no, four year old- off of her. 

“Get off me, I don’t have class until after lunch, oh my _god_ get off now.” Amanda babbles, pulling the covers over her head. 

Winona pulls the covers down. “Guess who’s got a date tonight?!” 

“I guess Winona.” 

“You guessed right!” She says, bouncing. “His name’s George. I met him at that coffee shop down the street. It’s tonight.” 

“That’s great.” Amanda said, yawning and shaking her head when Winona tugs on her arm. 

“Come on! We’re going shopping!” 

“Winona, it’s-” Amanda paused, looking up at the computer. “Six twenty-two in the morning. Nothing’s open.” 

Winona huffed. “Fine. At ten, though.”   
\--  
Amanda sighed as she sat down in the lecture hall, exhausted from her previous shopping spree with Winona who just had to find “something casual, but not too much, y’know?” 

Amanda didn’t know. Also, she apparently didn’t know a thing about current fashion. 

Whatever. 

Sarek sat down next to her a few moments later, and her head fell onto his shoulder, closing her eyes. 

“Your limpness suggests you require sleep.” 

“After that torture, I probably do.” 

Sarek waits for her to elaborate, and eventually she does. “Winona made me go shopping with her.” 

Sarek nods, fully understanding. “Winona can be . . . interesting to deal with on occasion.” 

“I don’t know how you two get along so well. You’re so different.” 

Sarek seems to consider this, before nodding. “That being said, many humans believe personalities that contrast the most work together best, also.” He said. Amanda nods, her hair mussing against the man’s scratchy and probably uncomfortable shirt.

“True.” She says, shrugging. “I don’t know. I guess you’re right.”

The lecture starts, and they both fall into a nice silence.   
\--  
“I just don’t think you can just _walk out_ into the-” 

Amanda stops walking, halfway through the quad with Sarek, when she sees Winona rushing towards them, in her pajamas. “Winona? What are you doing?” 

“I can’t go on a date, what am I _thinking_? Hi, Sarek. I mean, he’s, he’s _George,_ he’s clever, I can’t just-” 

“The most logical solution to this issue is for you to simply go to the dinner with this George. If you do not enjoy it, you need never contact the man again.” Sarek interrupts 

“I think Sarek’s right. You won’t know if you won’t try. Who knows? You might even marry him. And we’re going to graduate soon. Maybe he’ll want to go to Starfleet with you.” 

The woman brightens, and she nods. “Right. You’re right. I’m acting crazy. I should just go.”   
Amanda nods, and Winona smiles. “Well, go!” 

“Oh, right! Bye!”   
\--  
“My life is now, officially, over!” Winona says at midnight, when she bursts into the room and collapses on her bed. 

“Ow, okay, why?” Amanda says, sitting up blearily and looking in the relative direction of Winona. 

“It was terrible, absolutely terrible! And awkward, and we were both all nervous, and-” 

“Winona. First dates _are_ awkward. That’s their thing.” She said, her head hitting the pillow when she nuzzled back into bed. “You go on a second date, and a third date, and then you become a couple.” 

“But! Your first date with Sarek was never awkward!” 

“That’s because I was getting drunk and he was trying to learn about my past.” 

“Still!” The woman cries, and Amanda finally pushes her off the bed.   
\--  
She’s out sunbathing in the quad late afternoon when she feels somebody sit down beside her. 

She cracks open an eye, and reaches out to feel the rough fabric that Sarek’s always wearing. “Isn’t this uncomfortable? Because it looks uncomfortable.” 

Sarek shakes his head. “On the contrary, it is quite comfortable. It would be illogical to wear uncomfortable attire on a daily basis.” 

“Of course it is.” She said, smiling before reaching up, her hand searching for his. When he finds it, he hears Sarek sigh contently, and she leans her head on his leg. 

“Amanda,” He starts, and Amanda glances up. “I have noticed our progressing relationship, and I feel that we are both quite content to remain together for the remainder of our lives. That being said, I wish to form a mind bond with you. With your permission, of course.” He adds, and Amanda stares for a long moment. 

Winona had told her about this part. But she really didn’t think Sarek would do this. It was pretty much Vulcan marriage, from what Amanda could tell, and she wondered how he managed to love her.

Nevertheless, she loved Sarek, more than she had thought to herself, and nodded. “Sure. I’d like that.” She said, smiling up at the man.   
She swears he smiles, before he closes his eyes and touches her face, and she feels his happiness and he feels hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is! Thanks to all the people who read this, and to all the people who have enjoyed it!


End file.
